Brit Jack Draper beat Aleks Vukic in an exhausting fifth-set tie-break while Novak Djokovic withstood an injury scare to progress to the fourth round.
Brit Jack Draper beat Aleks Vukic in an exhausting fifth-set tie-break while Novak Djokovic withstood an injury scare to progress to the fourth round.
Key posts
- 1.09amVukic heartbroken despite career-best run
- 12.55amDraper wins
- 11.54pmDraper takes Vukic match to fifth set
- 11.49pmCollins was ‘funny’ and ‘smart’, says Djokovic
- 11.39pmFrom losing in qualifying, to the fourth round
- 11.30pmDanilovic upsets Pegula
- 10.50pmVukic’s wins set, Draper smashes racquet
- 10.46pmWatch: Djokovic battles heckler
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Gut-wrenching defeat for Aleks Vukic, who just kept fighting back every time he looked down and out.
He will probably thinking about his two points he lost on serve when up a mini-break at 6-5 in the match tiebreak, but even then he still got it back to seven-all.
The world No.68 broke new ground at Melbourne Park this week, making the third round of a grand slam for the first time in his career.
That follows him beating two top-20 stars – Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe – late last year, so he is in good form and has set himself up for a big year.
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Thanks so much for joining us for another marathon day at the Australian Open.
Aleks Vukic went so close to scoring a place in the fourth round before falling to Jack Draper while Novak Djokovic and fellow Serbian Olga Danilovic booked their places in the fourth rounds with wins on Rod Laver Arena.
We will be back later in morning with our day seven live blog, please join us then.
Bye for now.
Gut-wrenching defeat for Aleks Vukic, who just kept fighting back every time he looked down and out.
He will probably thinking about his two points he lost on serve when up a mini-break at 6-5 in the match tiebreak, but even then he still got it back to seven-all.
The world No.68 broke new ground at Melbourne Park this week, making the third round of a grand slam for the first time in his career.
That follows him beating two top-20 stars – Casper Ruud and Frances Tiafoe – late last year, so he is in good form and has set himself up for a big year.
Jack Draper is now turning his attention Carlos Alcaraz in the next round but first he needs to get his body right after another exhaustive five-set win.
“My body doesn’t feel great but, luckily, I have a good physio,” Draper said.
Draper said he had a great friendship with Alcaraz and he would put everything he had into his recovery in hope he can be as fit as possible for the match.
He also praised Vukic for his drive and desire to stay in the match when he looked in trouble.
“I thought he was done but he just came back from the dead,” Draper said of Vukic.
Jack Draper has beaten Aleks Vukic in a fifth-set tiebreak.
Draper served an ace to complete his 10-8 tiebreak win.
He then screamed into the night and pumped his fist after again beating an Aussie in an exhausting match, he beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in the last round.
Vukic and Draper are going into a 10-point tiebreak.
The winner will be the player who gets to 10 points or more, with a two-point lead.
Draper leads 1-0.
Vukic and Draper are going into a 10-point tiebreak.
The winner will be the player who gets to 10 points or more, with a two-point lead.
Draper leads 1-0.
UPDATED: Novak Djokovic dedicated his third-round victory to a Serbian student seriously hurt when a hit-and-run driver ploughed into a large group of students taking part in long-standing anti-government protests in central Belgrade on Thursday.
“Za Sonju,” Djokovic wrote on the camera post-match in Serbian Cyrillic script along with a heart drawing.
Sonja Ponjavic was the injured student, Serbian media reported.
During Djokovic’s match with Czech Tomas Machac, we reported that fans of the Serbian superstar held a banner saying “Podrška studentima” (Support for students).
Djokovic had also expressed his support for student protesters on social media platform X last December, which most pro-government media didn’t report, though local media usually follow the champion’s every move.
The protests began last November over the collapse of a railway station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad that killed 15 people.
The station building was renovated twice in recent years. Many in Serbia believe corruption led to sloppy work on the building reconstruction, which was part of a wider railroad project with Chinese state companies, AP reported.
The protests have since grown into a wider movement against President Aleksandar Vucic.
Djokovic confirmed in a press conference after the match the message was dedicated to student Sonja who was now in hospital.
“I’m sending her support and hope for a speedy recovery. I was shocked when I saw the footage,” he said.
“I can’t believe such things are happening. What snaps in someone’s head to run over another person. A woman, a young student at that. I’m calling for peace. I am totally against any kind of violence and it seems to me there is more of it in the streets.”
Sensational stuff from Aleks Vukic.
He looked dead and buried at 1-3, 15-40 in the final set but he not only wriggled out of trouble to hold serve, but broke Jack Draper back with some inspired play.
All the momentum is suddenly with the Australian as holds his serve and takes a 4-3 lead in the fifth.
It’s agony for Aleks Vukic and Australia as British top-20 star Jack Draper plays consecutive great points to seal the fourth set 7-6 (7-5) and force a deciding set.
Both these guys have already played five-setters in their opening two rounds, and will have to do so yet again.
It’s been a fiercely fought contest, with little between them outside the second set that Vukic won comfortably.
Vukic did little wrong throughout that fourth set, but will have to remain aggressive to ward off the net-rushing Brit.
Novak Djokovic is “just a big fan” of Danielle Collins and says the way the feisty American – a pantomime villain at this year’s Australian Open – mocked rowdy fans at Melbourne Park was funny and smart.
The 10-time Australian Open champion had his own clash with at least one spectator during his third-round victory over Czech Tomas Machac on Rod Laver Arena on Friday night.
Collins, the player who Ash Barty beat in the final to win the 2022 Australian Open, clashed with fans during her three-setter against Melburnian Destanee Aiava on the compact Kia Arena on Thursday.
The American celebrated her victory by cupping her ear to the pro-Aiava crowd and repeatedly saying, “How about that?” before playfully kissing her hand and then slapping her backside as she walked to her chair.
The Kia Arena crowd showered Collins with boos – stopping only to cheer Aiava as she walked from the court – prompting Collins to grab the microphone in her post-match interview.
“I was thinking during the match, if I’m out here, I might as well take that big fat pay cheque and go on a holiday,” Collins said.
Former world No.1 Djokovic broke out in a big smile when asked about Collins and her crowd interactions.
“I loved her response. I loved it, everything she said on the court, off the court,” said the 37-year-old.
“[I’m a] big fan of Danielle Collins after that. I was before, but now, big fan. I love it.
“I think she handled it really well. I don’t think I would be that polite, and I know exactly the feeling. So I think she was funny, smart, and [I’m] just big fan of what she did.”
The 24-time grand slam champion was open to the idea of tennis continuing to evolve with the way it treats spectators.
“We have the history and tradition that we are proud of and makes our sport different from other sports, but at the same time, you know, I think we have been a little bit behind the other sports with changes and trying to keep the pace with the evolution of society and the new generation that we all know doesn’t have that much of a great attention span,” Djokovic said.